Element assembly for electron devices



Dec. 1, 1936. w. L. KRAHL ELEMENT ASSEMBLY FOR ELECTRON DEVICES Filed May a; 1950 4 SheetsI-Sheet 1 INVENTOR BY m A RNEY KRAHL Dec. 1, 1936. w L, KRAHL 2,062,751

ELEMENT ASSEMBLY FOR ELECTRON DEViCES Filed May 6, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Muff/P A AFAf/L ATTOZRNE%J Dec. 1, 1936. w. L. KRAHL ELEMENT ASSEMBLY FOR ELECTRON DEVICES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filec} May 6, 1950 I'llllnu llll- IIL KRAHL w. L. KRAHL 2,062,751

ELEMENT ASSEMBLY FOR ELECTRON DEVICES Filed May 6, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR M4115 1 Ken/m ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 1, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELEMENT ASSEMBLY FOR ELECTRON DEVICES Application May 6, 1930, Serial No. 450,075

7 Claims.

This invention relates to electron devices and particularly to a means and a method for assembling the electrodes in such devices and is a modification of the construction shown in my 5 patent entitled Unitary element structure for vacuum tubes, Patent No. 1,857,647, dated May 10, 1932, and is a continuation in part of my Patent No. 1,869,568, dated August 2, 1932.

One of the objects of the invention is to pro- 10 vide a unitary element structure for an electron device which may be assembled entirely independently of the press upon which it is adapted to be supported.

Another object of the invention is to provide 15 a rigid element structure for an electron device in which there is little or no possibility of the elements getting out of alignment even under extreme conditions of shock or Vibration.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel means for mounting the filament in an electron device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a unitary element structure for an electron device which may be supported upon the electrical 25 connectors, therefore, the connectors for each element helping to increase the rigidity of the whole unit.

A still further object of the device is to provide a unitary element structure for an electron 30 device which may be supported uponstraight, parallel support rods of predetermined lengths.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a clip for supporting the end of the filament in an electron device.

Other objects and objects relating to the means and method of manufacturing and assembling the various parts will be apparent as the description of the invention proceeds.

Several embodiments of the invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an electron device embodying the invention with portions removed for clearness;

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the lower insulator;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the elements taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional front view of 5 the lower portion of the element structure illustrating the method of attaching the filament;

- Fig. 4 is a sectional side View through a portion of the element structure taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

55 Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of the invention with portions removed for clearness;

Fig. 6 is asectional side view of the element structure taken on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the element structure of Fig. 5; I

Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view ofthe element structure taken on the line 88 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is a sectional plan view of the yokes I for supporting the element structure taken on the line 99 of Fig.5;

Fig. 10 is a front elevation of another embodiment of the invention with portions removed for clearness;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the element structure of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a sectionalplan view of the element structure of Fig. 10 taken on the line I2|2 of that figure; Y

Fig. 13 is a sectional plan view showing the yoke structure of Fig. 10 and taken on the line |3I3 of that figure;

Fig. 14 is a sectionalplan view of the lower part of the yoke structure taken on the line l4l4 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the lower insulator of Fig. '10;

Fig. 16 is a sectional side view of the insulator showing the-filament attaching clip and taken on the line l6--I6- of Fig. 15;

Fig. 17 is a perspective view of a modified form v of insulator showing a different type of attaching clips for the filament;

Fig. 18 is a sectional side view of a portion of the insulator of Fig. 17 taken on the line |8|8 of that figure;

Fig. 19 is a front elevation of still another embodiment of the invention, certain parts being removed for clearness;

Fig. 20 is a sectional side view of the element structure of Fig. 19 taken on the line 20-20 of that figure;

Fig. 21 is a sectional plan view taken on the .28 are spaced apart as indicated in Fig. 1.

velope and is positioned upright within the envelope terminating in the press 4 in which the element supporting posts are sealed providing the means for making the electrical connections to the elements from the outside of the tube.

The elements of the tube comprise an anode 5, a grid 6, and a filamentary cathode 1. Both the anode and the grid may be formed of a flattened cylinder while the filament may comprise two V-shaped filaments connected in series and forming a single filament having the configuration of an M. The anode may be made in two parts, each part having a curved portion 8 terminating at each side in flanges 9 which may be provided at their extreme edges with grooves l0 adapted to cooperate when the anode parts are placed together to form sockets to receive supporting posts in a manner to be hereinafter described. When the flanges 9 of the two cooperating portions are secured together as by forcing portions of one through openings in the other, the portions being bent back over the opposite side of the flange, a complete anode structure is provided.

The anode structure may have a fiat insulating plate I I attached to it at the upper end and another flat insulating plate |2 attached at the lower end. To this end I provide extensions on each of the flanges 9 with fingers l3 at the ends thereof which are adapted to extend through openings M in the insulating plates II and I2 and be bent over on the reverse side to hold the plates firmly in place at the ends of the anode flanges.

The other elements of the. tube may be mounted upon the insulating plates H and I2 and to this end the grid 6 whichicomprises the usual helix of wire is wound upon two support rods l6 and I! which pass through holes l8 and I9 provided in each plate to receive them. The grid is somewhat smaller than the curved portions 8 of the anode but is substantially parallel therewith so that it fits within the anode and the filamentary cathode 1 is positioned within the grid.

In order to support the lower end of the filament the clips 2| are provided upon the lower insulator |2. These clips 2| are spaced apart between the grid support rod holes l8 and I9 and are secured to the insulator. Each of the clips 2| is substantially U-shaped having a flat portion 22 adapted to rest upon the top of the insulator and two legs 23 which are adapted to extend through openings 24 provided in the insulator for that purpose. The fiat portion 22 on each clip may be provided with a transverse ridge or depression 26 which provides a place for the filament I to pass under the surface 22 of the clip as illustrated in Fig. 4. The legs 23 of each clip 2| are preferably somewhat rounded to fit the top of a supporting post which also makes the necessary electrical connection to the filament and which will be hereinafter described.

On the upper plate I provide two openings 21 through which extend pins 28 which are supported by means of coil springs 29 and which have hooks 3| at their lower ends to receive the two loop ends of the filament. These two pins The lower end of the filament is then welded underneath the left hand clip 2|, as indicated in Fig. 3, passes up over the left hook 3| on the left hand pin 28, down under the flat portion 22 of the center clip 2|, up again over the hook 3| on the right hand pin 28, and down a ain to bewelded underneath the fiat portion 22 of the right hand clip 2|. This mounts the M-shaped filament firmly in position within the grid and supports the two loop ends thereof resiliently so as to maintain all straight portions of the filament under tension at all times.

In order to support the unitary element structure upon the press 4, I provide two relatively long support posts 32 sealed in the press at the outer ends thereof which are adapted to pass through holes 33 in the insulators H and I2 and through the sockets formed by the grooved edges I0 of the anode flanges 9, these posts forming the principal support for the structure. The flanges 9 may be welded to the supports 32 to increase the rigidity of the construction and make a good electrical contact therewith. Adjacent the posts 32 I provide two additional posts 34 which are somewhat shorter and are bent at an angle at the top where they contact with the lower ends of the grid support posts l6 and I1 and to which they may be Welded thereby aiding in maintaining the element structure in position.

Adjacent the support posts 34, I provide two additional support posts 36 which are also sealed in the press 4 and extend upwardly and slightly outwardly and terminate at a point flush with the lower surface of the insulator l2. The support posts 36 are bent to align themselves with the two end clips 2|, legs of which are rounded to conform to the upper ends of the support rods and may be welded to them thereby increasing the rigidity of the structure. An additional support post 31 may be sealed at the center ofthe press 4 and may extend upwardly to a point flush with the lower surface of the insulator l2 where it may be aligned with the central clip 2| and welded to the legs 23 thereof to further increase the strength and rigidity of the whole unit.

In assembling the construction shown in Fig. l the filament I would first be secured upon the lower insulating plate |2 by means of the clips 2|. Thereupon the grid 6 would be placed over the filament with the grid supports l6 and I7 extending through the holes provided for that p purpose in the lower insulating plate and the anode would then be placed over the grid with the fingers I3 engaging the lower insulating plate as indicated. Then the upper insulating plate may be applied and the wires 28 may be inserted through the openings 21 in the upper insulating plate to engage the loop ends of the two sections of the filament I when they may be drawn up until the filament is taut and then welded to the springs 29. In order to accomplish this the wire 28 may be considerably longer than is necessary and may be cut off above the spring Thus described the element unit is mounted rigidly upon the press 4 and electrical connections may be made therefrom to the terminals at the base of the tube. To this end a wire 38 may be provided connecting one of the support posts 32 with the anode terminal 39 at the base of the tube. A pair of wires 4| may be provided connecting the filament support rods 36 with the filament terminals 42 at the base of the tube while a wire 43 may connect one of the grid support posts 34 with the base terminal 44.

It will be evident from the above that I have provided a unitary element structure for an electron device in which all of the parts may be assembled entirely independently of the press of the tube and the unit then mounted upon the press, the several support rods sealed in the press aiding in maintaining the element unit in position and at the same time providing the electrical connections for the element. All of the parts are rigidly supported with respect to the other parts, there being no possibility of any movement with respect to each other so that the parts cannot get out of alignment nor touch each other to interfere in any way with the operation' of the device.

In Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive a modification of the invention is shown in which a different means of supporting the filament is illustrated, being somewhat similar to the means shown and described in my above mentioned application. The anode 5 in this construction is similar to that shownin Figs. 1 to 4 as is also the grid 6 which is supported upon the support posts |6 and H.

An insulator 46 is provided at the top of the anode similar to the insulator II and held upon the anode by means of the fingers l3 as in the previous case. At the lower end of the anode an insulator 41 is provided which may be held upon the anode similarly to the insulator 46 but has different openings to receive supporting means for the filament.

Both the insulators 46 and 4'! are provided with openings I8 and Hi to receive the grid posts I6 and I1. Each of these insulators is also provided with holes 48, 49 and 58 to receive filament support posts 5|, 52, and 53 respectively. These filament support posts 48, 49, and 50 are preferably square in cross-section and extend above the insulator 46 and below the lower insulator 41 as clearly shown in Fig. 5. The posts are secured to the upper insulator 46 by means of clips 54 which are bent completely around the insulator and are provided with openings 56 through which the posts extend. The lower ends of the clips 54 are bent downwardly beneath the insulator 46 and extend along the sides of the filament support posts to which they may be welded thus rigidly securing each of the posts 5|, 52,- and 53 to the upper insulator. The lower ends of these posts extend through the openings in the lower insulator 41 and are freely movable therein so that expansion and contraction of these posts will not be interfered with.

A pair of hairpin filaments 5'! and 58 are mounted upon the posts 5|, 52, and 53, the filament 51 being secured at its lower ends to the posts 5| and 52, while the filament 58 has its lower ends secured between the posts 52 and 53. To support the upper ends of the filament a plate 59 of insulating material such as mica is provided. This plate rests upon the upper surface of the clips 54 and is provided with openings 6|, 62, and 63 to receive the posts 5|, 52, and 53 respectively, the openings 6| and 63 being slotted to the end of the insulating plate if desired.

The insulating plate 46 is provided with a pair of spaced openings 64 and 65 and a pair of openings 66 and 61 are provided in the insulator 59 aligned with the openings 64 and 65 in the other insulator. Wires 68 and 69 are provided with hooks to engage the loop ends of the filaments 5! and 58 respectively and extend upwardly through holes 64 and 66, and 65 and 61 in the insulator 46 and the small insulator 59 respectively and may be attached to spiral springs H and 12 respectively. The springs II and 12 rest upon the top insulating plate 59 and support the filaments 51 and 58 under tension so that they cannot move with respect to the other elements.

In assembling the structure shown in Fig. .5 the three filament support posts 5|, 52, and 53 may be inserted in their corresponding openings in the insulating plate 46 and the clips 54 placed in position and welded to the posts. Then. the two filaments 51 and 58 may be welded between the posts 5| and 52, and 52 and 53 respectively and the Wires 68 and'69 may be inserted through the openings to engage the loop ends of thetwo filaments. The small insulating plate 59 may be placed inposition and the springs H and I2 placed thereupon and compressed whereupon the wires 68 and 68 are welded thereto. The anode and the grid may be placed in position upon the and 15 which extend through openings 16 and H in the insulating plates ,46 and 41 and may be welded to the anode flanges 9 similarly to the posts 32 in the construction of Fig.1. The posts 14 and 15, however, extend downwardly terminat ing a short distance below the lower insulating plate 41 and may be applied before the unit is positioned upon the press. A U-shaped yoke 16 may be provided below the insulating plate 41 and may be welded to the lower ends of the rods 14 and 15. Grooves 11 may be provided in the ends of the yoke for receiving the ends of the) rods as indicated. Three support rods 18 may be sealed in the press 13 and spaced apart one in the center and the other at the extreme ends of the press. These rods may extend a short distance above the press and. may terminate .at the upper edge of the cross member -19 of the yoke which may be welded to these rods in order to secure the yoke and the attached element unit in position. i

A second yoke 8| is providedbelow the insulating plate 41 and above the cross member 19 of the yoke 16 and has suificient length to connect the lower ends of the grid support rods l6 and I! to which the yoke may be welded. Grid connecting rods 82 are also provided sealed in the press and spaced just inside of the outer support rods 18. smaller than the support rods 18 and are somewhat longer extending up to the yoke 8| to which they may be welded.

Inside of the rods 82, I provide two filament connecting rods 83 which are spaced on each side of the center rod 18 and extend upwardly.

beyond the yoke 8| terminating at a point even These support rods may be with the lower end of the two outer filament rods 83 with the filament support posts 5| and 3 53 as clearly indicated in Fig. 5. I

The yoke 16 may have offset portions 86 to clear the grid and filament support rods 82 and 83, as shown in Fig. 9, and the yoke 8| may have an offset portion 81 to pass around the filament connectors 83 as is also shown in Fig. 9. e

The yoke 16 is connected to the anode 5 by means of the rods 14 and 15 and hence any one of the support rods 18 may be connected by means of a wire 88 to the anode terminal 89 at the base of the tube. The yoke 8| is connected to the grid by the grid support posts l6 and I! and hence either one of the grid connectors 82 may I provide fingers be connected by means of a wire 9I to the grid terminal 92 at the base of the tube. In like manner the filament connectors 83 which are connected to the filament posts 5| and 52 by means of the connector 84 may be connected by means of the wires 93 to the filament terminals 94 at the base of the tube.

This construction has the advantage that the support rods sealed in the press may be all straight and there need be no bending or cutting operation after the rods are positioned in the press but the whole element unit with the yokes attached may be laid against the support posts and welded to mount the unit in position.

In Fig. 10 a construction having an anode yoke and a grid yoke similar to the construction of Fig. 5 is shown and having a filament supporting mechanism similar to that shown in Fig. 1. The anode, grid, and the supports for the upper end of thefilament protruding through the upper insulator are exactly the same as shown in Fig. 1 while the lower insulator 96 is provided with three straps 91, 98, and 99, spaced apart adjacent the center thereof. The straps pass completely around the insulator the ends coming together at the lower side of the insulator as indicated in Fig. 16 and being held in place by the natural stiffness of the metal. Each of the straps 91, 98, and 99 are provided with a lug IOI, I02, and I03, respectively, under which the filament I04 is adapted to pass. Thus the filament may start at the lugs IOI on the strap 91, to which it may be welded, and pass upwardly over one of the hooks 3I, down again under the lug I02 on the strap 98, up again over the other supporting hook at the top, and down again to be welded or to be otherwise secured to the lug I03 on the strap 99. In this manner the M-shaped filament is held in position, each portion thereof being maintained taut.

On the inner lower edges of the lugs 91 and 99, I06 and I01 respectively to which the upper end of the filament connectors 83 may be welded forming the filament connections for the tube.

The yoke I09 may be similar to the yoke 16 of Fig. 5 and the grid yoke 8I may be exactly similar to that shown in Fig. 5, the whole element unit being supported in exactly the same manner.

In place of the straps 91, 9 8, and 99, I may provide U-shaped clips I09, H0, and III (Fig. 17) which are spaced apart similarly to the straps 91, 98, and 99 but the ends of which are inserted in slots II2 formed in pairs in the lower insulator. The ends of the U-shaped clips are bent under the underside of the insulating plate I I3 as indicated in Fig. 18. The upper surface of each of the clips is preferably provided with a ridge or groove I I4 similar to that shown at 26 in Fig. 4 to receive the filament. The insulator I I3 may be provided with holes H5 and H6 just inside of the clips I09 and III respectively and the filament II1 may extend up through the hole I I5, along the top surface of the insulator I I3 and under the clip I09 engaging in the groove I I4, then upwardly over one of the hooks 3 I downwardly under the clip I I0, upwardly again over the other hook 3 I, downwardly again and inwardly under the clip II I, and then downwardly through the hole H6 in the insulator H3. The ends of the filament I I1 extending below the insulator may be welded to the filament connecting rods 83 similarly to the fingers I06 and I01 shown in Figs. 10 and 16.

In Figs. 19 to 22 inclusive a further modification of the invention is shown which has an anode and a grid similar to those shown in the other figures and an anode yoke and grid yoke similar to those shown in Figs. 5 and 10 and support rods sealed in the press in a similar manner to those. shown in the last mentioned figures. A modified means for supporting the filament, however, is shown.

In this construction the upper insulating plate H9 is provided with a transverse slot H9 at its center through which a relatively narrow flat metal plate I 20 extends. A clip I2I extends aroundthe insulating plate II8 adjacent the flat plate I20 and has a slot I22 provided to receive the plate I20 which extends a short distance upwardly therethrough. The plate I20 extends downwardly to a point spaced slightly from the lower insulator I23. Between the lower end of the plate I20 and the insulating plate I23, I pro vide an insulating block I24 which is provided with a groove I26 at its central portion around which is placed a clip I21 whose sides extend upwardly a short distance adjacent the edges of the plate I20 to which they may be welded thus securing the plate I20 to the insulating block I24. Adjacent the ends of the insulating block I 24, I provide grooves I28 around which clips I29 may be bent, the metal being stiff enough to remain fixed when once bent into place. A finger I3I is bent upwardly from each of the clips I29 and one end of each of these clips adjacent the center on the lower surface of the block I24 is bent downwardly forming a depending lug I32 which is adapted to engage in one of a pair of slots I33 provided in the lower insulator I23 spaced one on each side of the center.

The upper insulator II8 may be provided with two spaced openings I34 through which wires I36 having hooks on their lower ends may extend. A small insulating plate I31 may be provided to rest upon the clip I2I and may have a slot I38 at the center thereof to receive the upper end of the plate I20 which holds the insulator I31 in place upon the clip. Spaced holes I39 may also be provided in the insulator I31 to align with the holes I34 in the insulator H8 so as to receive the wires I36 which are extended therethrough. Coil springs I4I may be provided upon the insulator I31 and welded to the wires I36 to maintain a tension on the filament similarly to the construction previously described.

With this construction the plate I20 together with the block I24 may be mounted upon the upper insulator H8 and the filament I42 welded to the lug I3I on one of the clips I29, whence it may be brought upwardly over one of the hooks on one of the wires I36, then downwardly under the end of the plate I20, passing between the plate and the insulator I24, then upwardly over the hook on the other wire I36, and downwardly again to be welded to the lug I3I on the other clip I29. Thus the filament is completely supported upon the upper insulator II8.

In the assembly of the device the grid and anode may be attached to the lower insulator plate I23 and the upper insulating plate with the filament construction attached thereto may then be placed in position inserting the insulator I24 and plate I20 down inside of the grid with the lugs I32 engaging and passing through the openings I33 provided for that purpose in the lower insulator I23. When the parts are assembled in this manner the element assembly is similar to that shown in Fig. 5 and the filament connection may be made from the filament rods 83 to the depending lugs [32 by means of connectors 84 similarly to the construction shown in Fig. 5.

It will be seen from the above description that I have provided a unitary element structure for an electron device in which the various parts are all rigidly secured in position with respect to each other and in which the assembly thereof may be accomplished easily and quickly and the whole structure mounted in the envelope upon the press with a minimum of operations.

Note should be made particularly of the construction shown in Fig. l in which all of the supporting wires sealed in the press help to support the element unit. Also the filament support posts form a means to position the element structure at a predetermined distance from the press and the lower insulator plate rests upon the posts. The construction lends itself particularly to use in which the device is subjected to severe vibration or jars.

Many modifications of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit thereof and I do not desire to limit the invention to what has been shown and described except as such limitations occur in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an electron device a pair of spaced plates, supports for one of said plates, three metal straps secured to said supported plate, a pair of spaced hooks resiliently mounted upon said other plate, and an M-shaped filament supported between said plates and having the two upper loops of the M supported upon the two resiliently mounted hooks and the extreme lower ends of the M and the center loop thereof each being bound to said supported plate and plate supports by one of said straps.

2. In an electron device an insulating plate having a pair of spaced openings therein, a U- shaped conducting clip having legs extending through said openings, means on said clip to secure a filamentary cathode, said legs having semi-cylindrical extensions to form a. socket for a support rod.

3. In an electron device a pair of spaced insulators, one of said insulators having three pairs of spaced parallel slots, a -U-shaped clip adjacent each pair of slots with its legs extending through said slots, said clips having semi-cylindrical legs to form sockets to receive supporting rods, an M- shaped filamentary cathode having its extreme ends attached to said two outer clips and the lower central loop attached to said center clip, and means to resiliently support the upper loops of said filament from said other insulator.

4. In an electron device a pair of spaced insulators, means for supporting said insulators, an electrode extending between said insulators and supported thereby, a filamentary electrode extending between said insulators, means to support said filamentary electrode resiliently upon one of said insulators, and means comprising metal straps for binding together said filamentary electrode, insulator supporting means, and supported insulator.

5. In an electron device an insulator, a support therefor, a filamentary electrode, straps binding together said support, insulator and displaced sections of said electrode, and means for supporting resiliently the displaced sections of said filamentary electrode.

6. In an electron device a pair of spaced insulators, a support for one of said insulators, a pair of straps secured in spaced relation to each other upon one of said insulators by surrounding a portion thereof, an M-shaped filamentary electrode extending between said insulators, each of said metal straps binding together an end of the filamentary electrode, the insulator supports, and the supported insulator, and means to resiliently support the loop end of said filamentary electrode upon the other insulator.

7. In an electron device a support, a plurality of wires sealed in said support, a lower insulation plate resting against the ends of some of said wires, an upper plate mounted on other of said wires, a filament mounted between said insulation plates, and a plurality of clips each binding a portion of the filament to the lower insulation plate and said plate to a wire end.

WALTER LOUIS KRAHL. 

